Input on Getting Lighter

[david b]

I am working on lightening up and thinking about the next best thing to cut. I am a three season hiker in the North East. Often on the AP. I am usually out for 1-5 nights with this gear. Like to go as long and fast as possible. I usually plan my trip and then see how fast I can do it.

Here is the list. What would you cut or replace? I'm not afraid to spend a little for the right gear and love MYOG projects as well.

Thanks in advance for the help.

[Aaron Sorensen]

Why do you need a full length 3/8" pad in a hammock at 40 degrees?
A cut down 1/8" pad = 2 ounces, saves 10 ounces.

A 40 degree quilt is about 16 ounces and is more efficient than a bag when using a hammock, save 10 ounces.

Your 65 litter pack is huge, using something like a large Arc Blast = 17 ounces, saves you 41 ounces.

Now we have 61 ounces saved (almost 4 pounds) and you haven't taken away anything that you love.

[Chad B]

Biggest thing that jumped out at me is the Kelty tarp. You could easily replace that with a lighter tarp. Also, the nylon foot/sit pad could be replaced with a small piece of tyvek maybe?

Borah Gear sells a 9'x9' sil tarp for $95. 11.6oz.

[Aaron Sorensen]

Now you're at 73 ounces saved for very little money.

People don't get any lighter because they always seem to have excuses about why they either need that item or why they can't give it up.
The only way you'll get any lighter is to listen to what others have to say and try it out for yourself.
I'm not saying a 1/8" pad "will work for you, but you are trying to go lighter so it's worth a shot.

Maybe someone with more hammock experience could chime in on the padding side.

[M B]

You can do some minor trimming. For instance 9oz is ridiculous for hygiene kit. That could be about 4-5 oz.

But the most bang for buck, will be in the pack , followed by tarp , and sleeping bag

But you might need to change all 3 out at same time to fit into a much lighter pack, as well as drop some redundant clothing, etc.

For the same conditions, I carry about 7 lbs. I would suggest you think in terms of maximum total limits on each group to show you where to shave.

Shelter – 2.0 lbs total, thats everything including stakes and ground cloth.
Sleeping bag/quilt – 1.5 lb
Sleeping pad – 0.75 lb
Pack – 2.25 lbs.

Total big 4 maximum = 6.5 lbs

Insulation clothing and spare clothing – 1.5 lb
Cooking – 0.5 lb
Water containers, foodbag, bearline, etc = 0.5 lb
Miscl other gear = 1.0 lb

Total other = 3.5 lb

Total all gear = 10.0 lb

[M G]

Seems like you have done the cheap low hanging fruit type of changes but your big 3 are still on the heavy side as mentioned.

Lots of options for lighter tarps at a variety of price points depending on your fabric preferences.

Swap the bag for a quilt. Maybe get a revelation x from Tim before he makes changes to his products.

For the same weight you could have a much warmer quilt that would take you into the shoulder season or a much lighter weight 40F quilt. This is no brainer IMO. If you prefer a bag you can go much lighter than 26 oz for a 40F with a WM bag. Seems these were on sale somewhere today only….

Pack should be last. Lots of options there. I wont go into these but you should keep an eye on gear trade as packs get listed everyday. Figure out what size you need them wait patiently. My personal favourites are the MLD, HMG and ULA packs.

[david b]

It's been obvious to me that the pack is heavy, but I have to say the Osprey "Airspeed" suspension frame is unbelievably comfortable. At over 4 pounds it's not lightweight, but so far it's been something I've been reluctant to abandon. I've been nervous to invest in a frameless pack.

The pad, tarp and bag seem like the big targets as everyone has said. As much as I love the hammock it seems hard to get the weight down to a normal ground dweller weight. Also, when the bugs are bad they bite right though the hammock if you're sleeping with a top quilt. The long pad helps avoid that problem by keeping your skin from the nylon.

Most of the weight of the hygiene kit is in the small wet wipes which I have not bothered to take out of their original packaging, toothpaste (honestly I hardly every use it), and sanitizer (original packaging).

[M B]

There are several light-framed packs in the 1.5-2.5 lb range that work great.
You dont need to go frameless, until you want to get below about 6-7 lbs.

Too many people do though, buying a Jam or other and then trying to carry 30 lbs in it and are unhappy.

[James Marco]

Actually swapping out the pack would help considerably. The Gossamer Gear Gorilla and the larger Mariposa have removable internal frames, with pad pockets in the frame position. I have been "eye balling" both for some time.

[Aaron Sorensen]

David

Ospreys Exos line has an "Airspeed" suspension and weighs half what you are thinking.

[Laura Shaffer]

I'd second the motion on getting a Revelation X quilt from enLIGHTened equipment. I have not experienced the Revelation in person, but I got a Prodigy X (their synthetic model) for cowboy camping and it's great. Both their down and synthetic bags are an excellent balance of weight:quality:price. But if you are OK with down and you are really shaving weight, go for the down of course. The 40 degree one is around 18 ounces for $175. If you want to really go wild, Katabatic Gear makes a 15 ounce 40 degree bag for around $400.

Also getting a lighter tarp would probably serve you well. I have a double-walled two-person tent that weighs about the same as your tarp. Can't advise on specifics, but those lighter tarps are out there! MacCat makes some reasonably prices light ones. See this thread:
https://www.hammockforums.net/forum/showthread.php?t=38992

Then once you've lightened up your load, you can probably get away with a pack with fewer whistles and bells. I know MB just warned against this, but I've been very happy with my GoLite Jam. I've been carrying about 18 lbs in it and could probably do more comfortably. In my experience, it seems like just about all packs have too large a volume relative to their support features. So just don't be tempted to fill it up. Alternatively, you could see if you can get away with the 35 liter. I'm sure the Mariposa and Gorilla are really nice packs (I have eyeballed them), but you can get a Jam so cheaply it would be hard to regret it. Just depends on your budget to some extent. Whichever way you go, replace your pack last so you have a nice light load to put in your UL pack!

If you get any of this stuff (maybe even if you don't), I'd highly recommend replacing your DEET with a picaridin-based bug repellent (at least 15%). It won't damage your gear like DEET.

[Kate Magill]

4 liters of water capacity is a lot for the northeast. When was the last time you hiked with all of them full (~8 lbs of water)? I usually carry two 1 L bottles, filling one at a time, stopping for water whenever the full one is almost empty. You note not being able to reach the water bottles on your pack–is this why you bring the bladder and hose? I'd consider making some elastic bottle loops to go on the shoulder straps of your pack; then you can eliminate the 2 L bladder and have fast access to your water.

The 9 oz hiking pants jump out at me, too. Are these carried in your pack? Combined with the extra shorts, they seem redundant. If you're worried about leg warmth, maybe a pair of windpants? That would cut the weight of those pants by ~6 oz.

[david b]

Kate, you're right. I haven't given up the bladder due to the inaccessibility of the bottles. I actually took the time to contact Osprey about this because I thought "gee, who would possibly design a pack this way? I must be doing something wrong." Nope. They said it was a documented problem in the new line of packs and the packs were designed for use with a bladder.

[Dale Wambaugh]

Recommendations:

A lighter pack. An Osrey Exos is a framed option that retains the vented back panel. If you can tolerate a frameless pack you can go much lighter. +1 on changing the pack last.

I would go with a wider and shorter CCF pad and replace your sit/foot mat with a sit pad like the Therm-a-Rest z-seat or a plain piece of CCF. You can use that under your feet in your hammock. Gossamer Gear has wide/thin CCF pads that can be trimmed. Walmart and Big 5 have carried 25"-26" wide (and cheap) CCF pads that can be trimmed to suit. Rounding the corners helps.

There are many hammock tarp options that are lighter. A silnylon tarp can drop the weight considerably: I have one with a 12' ridgeline that is 14oz. A Cuben tarp is the ultimate, budget aside.

Nix the spare clothing. One pair of spare socks should be plenty.

Nix the poncho. Put your pack in your pack liner for overnight storage, or hang it off the foot end of your hammock.

Budget for a quilt.

[Kate Magill]

Since you mentioned an interest in MYOG, Stick's Blog has a good walk-through for how to make shock cord water bottle holsters. I think he uses two 20-oz gatorade bottles…

http://sticksblog.com/2013/01/20/diy-shoulder-strap-water-bottle-holders/

It's an easy fix, distributes weight well, and may give you more flexibility if/when you do start shopping around for a new pack. There are lots of poorly designed side pockets out there.

[Jake D]

+1 on the Exos. It also has forward facing water bottle pockets that are much easier to reach. My shoulders are not flexible and i can get bottles out of both sides. I use powerade bottles that go in/out nice but don't fall out when I lean forward.

my 12oz MYOG quilt can get into the 40's with additional insulation for under 100 bucks and a few hours of work. M90 + 2.5 apex. search for Sin50 quilt

[Jason Mahler]

You can make your own bug sock at around 4oz and less than 10 dollars.

As for pack, at 14# base weight you may need a super comfortable pack. At 8#, you don't need the fancy options while still being very comfortable. Zpacks arc blast is very comfortable even in the 20-30# range and a dream under 12#.

*Edited to correct me not paying attention to phone auto complete.

[Troy Ammons]

A new Pack, Bag and Tarp will save you 4#.

You can MYOG all of it or buy.

Zpacks Arc-Blast or other 17 oz pack.

M50 Climashield or down quilt. My 2.5 oz Apex quilt weighs 15oz for a tall.
You could do a slim regular size 3.7 oz CS quilt for about 17-18oz.

MYOG tadpole type cat cut Tarp of 2nds sil or get Wilderness logics to build you a custom length. My tadpole clone is very long over 13' and weighs 12.5 oz with suspension.
That said Wilderness Logics have reasonable prices. Better yet Cuben if you can afford it.

There are a few other odds and ends to save a few oz here and there, but thats the biggest weight savers.

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